Couture or Trade: An Early Pictorial Record of the London College of Fashion

London's fashion industry had long produced luxurious hand-made clothing for women of the leisured classes. However, by the end of the 19th century the West End was suffering a shortage of skilled employees and trade was being lost to Paris. The response to this challenge was the founding in 1906 of women's trade schools, with a needle-trade curriculum devised in close co-operation with leading dressmakers and the exclusive London stores. The London College of Fashion had its origin in three of those schools, in Barrett Street, Shoreditch and Clapham.